Musings: Progeria & other genetic diseases

We grew up with a girl that has (or had, I don't know if she's still around) progeria.

Most people treated her differently, well, except for a few of us. She comes to our house and we play together.

She was so full of life and she wouldn't allow you bully her. What she lacked in stature, she gained with her sharp tongue. She was actually really intelligent. We had a popular set of twins in Nigeria who had progeria, they were actors till they passed away. They were called Ibeji Oran(horrible twins)
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Ibeji Oran

I shared a story of something I experienced in July of how I was in a bus and I almost said asked passengers if we had a ram in the bus. I was so bothered by the sounds coming every 30-45 secs until I located its source.

It was this young boy (between ages 6 and 9). I realized he has Tourette's syndrome.

My heart broke that day. I couldn't begin to imagine the mockery he must be "enjoying" on a daily basis. See ehn, Knowledge is profitable to direct oh!

Knowledge is power.

Before you proceed to act or say stuff, biko, get knowledge.

What then is progeria?
Known as Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome, progeria is a genetic disorder that makes children age quickly. As told in my introduction above, Adejoke was only 8 when I met her but she looked 100, no kidding. Symptoms start showing as early as age 1 and above, manifesting as slow growth, hair loss, shrinking skin, etc. It's not inherited, rather it is caused by random mutation of that particular gene.
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Progeria patient

Currently, as with Tourette's syndrome, there is no cure but early detection makes management easier and slows down the progression rate of the syndrome.

In case you come across any child/person with this syndrome, be kind to them, it's not a spiritual attack.